February 17, 2010

But I wonder how the results would have differed if I had included flowers or chocolate or jewelry. Sometimes my love for alliteration just gets in the way of a scientific sampling. Thanks to all who participated. Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.

September 26, 2009

But poor Necco wafers. At 0% They get no respect. Or maybe it's just because people outside of New England don't know about this candy. They're thin and round--about the size of a quarter--and taste just like those conversation hearts you get around Valentine's Day.

Thanks to all who voted. Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.

June 18, 2009

Sharon, a real-life cookie taster, loves to bake cookies with her kids, but she said that drop cookies--the little round guys--are a real hassle because scooping and baking individual cookie units is just too time consuming. I see what she means: It's a lot faster and easier to bake all the dough in one shot and then cut individual servings straight from the pan. She's asked me to come up with a bar cookie recipe, and I hope to have one for her really soon. But before then, I thought I'd ask you, dear readers, where you stand on the drop cookies vs. bar cookies issue. Which cookie shape do you prefer? Does shape trump taste?

March 25, 2009

According to my Easter Treats poll, chocolate (surprise, surprise) was readers' top choice for Easter candy. In fact, chocolate took out Peeps, the next highest rated pick, by a margin of well over 2-1.

I voted for jelly beans, but they might be a little hard to incorporate into a cookie. They'd probably just melt into lumps of goo. But that might be a good thing, especially if I use them to make stained glass cookies. Hmm...I'll have to think about that.

Thanks to all who voted and commented. You've given me some great ideas! Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.

February 28, 2009

According to my Erin Go Bragh(kovich) poll, readers' top three St. Patrick's Day cookie ingredients were Bailey's Irish Cream, McCann's Irish oatmeal, and Guinness, followed closely by green food coloring and Jameson whiskey. I guess the results aren't too surprising, but I don't know if I can do a cookie with three kinds of alcohol in it. Then again...maybe I can.

Poor little currants didn't get a single vote. Whenever I think of scones or Irish soda bread, currants are one of the default mix-ins. I'll bring them in somehow, even though they scored a big 0.0%. Maybe I'll enplumpen 'em with some booze.

I'm going to come up with St. Patrick's Day cookies for the drinkers and nondrinkers alike. Here's a hint: I'll be putting the tea back in teetotaler

Thanks to all who voted and commented. Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.

February 19, 2009

I want to get an early start on a St. Patrick's Day-themed cookie, and how better to figure out the recipe than to have a poll? I'm thinking of something sconey...but better. Pick the ingredient you think would best capture the flavor and spirit of the holiday. And don't worry: I'll definitely do a kid-friendly, booze-free recipe too.

December 26, 2008

Mumma said her new 5'-tall Santa is "cute." His eyes follow you, so I covered his head with a napkin. I said that when all the lights are out and everyone's asleep, this thing steps down from his stand, walks around, and makes some devilish plans.
What do you think? Is this Santa cute or creepy?

December 05, 2008

According to my Christmas Cravings poll, the flavor people are looking forward to the most this season is gingerbread. Mmmm...gingerbread men and gingerbread houses. Now you're talking Christmas!

It looks like I've already got this flavor covered. All you lovers of gingerbread should check out my Redheads Cookies.

Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in.

Thanks to all who already voted, especially those of you who left comments for choosing "other." I'm going to try to come up with some recipes that capture your favorite Christmastime flavors in cookie form. Stay tuned!

December 03, 2008

The Christmas Season®™ seems to start earlier and earlier each year. Duane Reade (an omnipresent NYC drug store chain) put up its Christmas stuff the day after Halloween, and Mumma tells me that Macy's (in Massachusetts) started its holiday blitz back in August. It's as if poor Thanksgiving is but a speed bump on the way to 12/25. I wish you a merry turkey indeed.

But, despite the focus on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and state of the economy, Christmas is a time for peace on Earth, good will toward men, and--of course--eating.

Though we're several weeks away from the main event, what Christmas flavors are you looking forward to most? In other words: What treats will you be having when you watch the kid stick his tongue to a frozen flagpole?

October 28, 2008

According to my Talkin' Turkey poll, more than half of you are planning to have traditional Thanksgiving meals.

I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year and had originally planned to do something entirely nontraditional: eggplant parmesan. But I'm also going to do a small turkey breast, gravy, and stuffing. You know...all the stuff to make leftover turkey sandwiches (but I guess they'll be more first run than leftover). So count me among those who chose "eclectic."

Voting still remains open, so feel free to weigh in. Thanks to all who already voted, especially those ex-pats out there. (I'm talking to you Belgium and London!)

October 21, 2008

I know it's a little early to start thinking about turkey and all that, but Jon and I will be playing host to Mumma, my brother, and sister-in-law this Thanksgiving. Regular readers know I'm from cranberry country, which also happens to be next door to pilgrim country. Our family Thanksgivings have been pretty traditional, with the turkey, gravy, stuffing/dressing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, pearled onions, and on and on...and on. Oh! And don't forget the pies. And cheesecakes.

We'll be in New York City this year, not Plymouth County, Massachusetts, so some twists on the traditional are a must. And I'll be doing the cooking, so unless everyone wants to eat cookies for dinner, the star of this year's Thanksgiving is going to be eggplant parmesan.

All this menu planning got me thinking about what others do for Thanksgiving. Do you keep it traditional, go off on an Asian-fusion tangent, or do a bit of the old mixed with the new?

PS: For those who are interested, here are some photos I took of Plymouth Rock and its portico when I was home for the Cranberry Harvest Festival. (I tried to take a few snaps of Mayflower II, but there was a line of tour buses blocking it from view.)

September 13, 2008

Thanks to all who already voted and to those who commented. Jem got me thinking about cardamom (and the cardamom and rosewater cookie I was thinking about doing last spring), and Alicia reminded me how well black pepper works in spice cookies and cakes.

I don't know about you, but I think an "Autumn Spice and Everything Nice" cookie is in order.

September 10, 2008

After I made my ginger-rich Redhead cookies, I started thinking about autumn spices. (Nothing smells better to me than late-September air mixed with freshly baked apple pie. Mmmm.) What's your favorite fall flavor? There just might be a cookie in it for you...

September 02, 2008

For some people, chocolate is like air: can't live without out it! Some people could do without chocolate altogether, thank you very much. My dad wasn't a fan of chocolate, but he did enjoy a little bit of white chocolate once in a while. I'm chip off the old block--sorta. Sometimes I have a serious craving for a Snickers, and sometimes I don't even want to look at an M&M. Go figure...

Chime in on your chocolate choice. This research, I'm sure, will help me make an even better cookie for chocolate lovers!

August 25, 2008

According to my Cookies at What Cost? poll, it looks like there are some big cookie-spenders out there. A full quarter of respondents said there was no limit to what they would pay for a bakery-made cookies. No limit? Oh my! I should totally charge for my cookies.

I guess I'm cheap. I said $1 was my limit! (Maybe I should have voted for "Pay for cookies? Are you kidding!?")

August 18, 2008

Apropos of my trip to Levain Bakery and the news that Mrs. Fields filed for bankruptcy, I thought I'd check in with you all to see what your price limit is on a single cookie. Are there tough times ahead for high-end "gourmet" cookies? Or is taste, not price, the determining factor?